by Freez » Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:56 pm
IMO -
We have recently enjoyed a sustained period of relative success and stability on the field. If you compare the period from JH taking over as manager to the present day we have been growing as a club both on and off the field.
Compared with the poor results/attendances from the mid 70's up to Griff taking over, barring a brief flirtation with the top six for three seasons with Joe Woj (not going there spelling wise!) otherwise we were a pretty dire non league team. Mid table NPL at best, gates of 300 on average.
When Jim took over we won promotion, averaged 500, Conference early days averaged around 1000, which to the long term fans of the time was a surprise and bloody amazing!
Then we began to finish in the top 6 regularly, we managed around 1200 on average.
Play-offs introduced and suddenly an extra promotion place up for grabs, more full time teams and we start to creep up to 1400 hardcore.
The season we ended up in the play-off final at Wembley we played Aldershot on a Tuesday night in Feb (Still less than two years ago remember!) and scraped 1100 yet took ten times that amount three months later to London.
Our first season as a Football League club included a memorable Carling Cup run and some scintillating home victories such as Bradford, Chester and Peterborough.
However, the novelty of Christie Park as a new destination for away fans no longer exists, as demonstrated in the reduced away attendances by in form teams such as Rochdale and Darlington.
We managed over 2000 on Boxing Day, and that is about where I expect us to be in the attendance table.
If you were to take out last season on the attendance graph then we have steady growth year on year since the mid 90's.
However, the Wembley feelgood factor and inaugural season curiosity boosted our average way beyond my personal expectation, much as a few of us expected to average 7-800 in the Conference but we topped that.
SO (finally!!) to increase the gate revenue is the goal. Do you increase the charge to the faithful few or do you offer cheap season deals similar to Bradford?
To increase by a pound or two would not put me off, but I know of others who would be deterred, as the cost mounts up for two, or with kids for instance.
I believe Crusty Pie offers pretty decent value for money both with the product on offer and the food etc.
Personally, I was a regular travelling away from home throughout our Conference life, where all prices were similar,but have found it difficult to reconcile some prices with the product on offer in this division.
It is Conference at best in some places, substancially better at others but being persistently forced to sit and being charged over £20 to do it, is to me, a disgrace. Hence my away trips are a little more selective these days. There will be those who say "If you loved your team you would pay any amount?" and to an extent that sort of thinking exists in the mind of most football club administrators, and it is fundamentally wrong week in week out. Yes for a cup match or special game, not 44 games a season.
I used to watch the big boys regularly, Maine Road, Goodison Park, Old Trafford etc, but they priced themselves out of it as a weekly thing years ago, and non league was a refreshing value for money alternative, and still is. Our dream was to progress, progress means change, we are punching well above our weight at the moment and cannot hope to progress without the new ground and our chairman's generosity or both, and even then it will not guarantee on the field success.
11,000 peeps have a passing interest in The Shrimps, as proved at Wembley, half that and that could be our big game at home crowd, quarter it and maybe that is what we should be aiming for as an average. So 2,750? We hit that last season.
As for the discussion, we are nearly all the converted on here, we need to preaching to the 8000 or so lovely types who have paid us little attention since we went to the big arch in London.
Perhaps the new ground will generate a little more interest among the sceptics, but above all perfomances on the field and position in the table often dictate bums on seats.
If a good mate goes to see a film you want to see and tells you it is crap, do you still bother? This kind of talk happens in every pub in the town every day of the week.
Recently I spoke to a group of people who ask me how they played as they "heard they were crap", it always amazes me that some people are never satisfied. These chaps did'nt go but had been told by a bloke in the pub that it was crap and they didn't miss anything.
This was after Boxing Day!!!!
Anyway, following my Apsers style stream of drivel I would keep the prices as keen as possible, have 20 full time pro's only, do deals on season and half season tickets, two full price one half price bring a friend type games, free pie promotions, family fun days, community days etc. Compile a database of anyone whoever buys anything from a pie to a season ticket or who even walks past the ground and then emyther the buggers as soon as Sammy even farts.
£14 next season in the North Stand?
Keep the Faith, you have been a lovely audience, my names Ben Elton, GOODNIGHT!
Frisnit Frisnit!!
)
We should be doing all we can to get more through the gate not taking advantage of the loyalty of the hardcore fans! What we think is not half as important as the fair weather fans on this issue. I hope the club realise this. How can we survive long term on crowds of 2000?
